EL7.AI
Mergers & AcquisitionsMedium•25 October 2026•
4 min read

H.B. Fuller Offer Values Advanced Medical Solutions at About £715 Million

Key Facts

1The cash offer is 285 pence per share, valuing AMS’s share capital at about £659 million and its enterprise value at about £715 million.
2AMS shareholders approved the acquisition on August 12, 2026.
3H.B. Fuller issued $850 million in notes carrying a 7.625% coupon and maturing in 2034.
4The offer premium is 34.8% to the May 20 closing price and 38.7% to the three-month volume-weighted average price.

The UK Takeover Panel identified H.B. Fuller Medical Adhesive Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of H.B. Fuller, as the bidder for Advanced Medical Solutions Group, known as AMS, on May 21, 2026. The two companies announced a recommended cash offer of 285 pence per share on June 25, valuing AMS’s issued and to-be-issued share capital at about £659 million and its enterprise value at about £715 million. The deal thus moved from the bidder identification stage to a formal offer that AMS shareholders later approved. Completion, however, remained subject to the satisfaction or waiver of outstanding conditions, with closing expected by the end of the calendar year. The Panel’s records distinguish this deal from Aptitude Software Group, which appeared during a separate offer period without a named bidder.

The 285 pence consideration represents a premium of 34.8% to AMS’s closing share price of 212 pence on May 20, 2026, the day before the offer period began. It is also 38.7% above the volume-weighted average price of 205 pence during the three months ending on the unaffected date. These comparisons put the offer value above the share price before the deal emerged in the market, while the equity valuation stands at about £659 million. The estimated enterprise value is about £715 million, according to H.B. Fuller’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AMS shareholders approved the acquisition at court meetings held on August 12, 2026, according to a statement from H.B. Fuller. The company said completion was expected by the end of the calendar year, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of outstanding conditions. That condition kept the deal at the pre-closing stage despite shareholder approval. The statement gave no more precise completion date than year-end. The remaining steps to satisfy the conditions, rather than a shareholder vote, therefore remained on the announced path to closing.

On the financing side, H.B. Fuller issued $850 million in unsecured notes on October 21, with a 7.625% coupon and a 2034 maturity. The company said proceeds from the issue, together with available cash, replaced an unsecured credit facility that had been partly intended to finance the acquisition. Commitments under that facility were cancelled on October 21, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This means the company disclosed an alternative source of financing for the deal ahead of the expected closing date. The disclosure did not change the requirement to satisfy or waive the remaining conditions to complete the acquisition.

Official records show why the deal must be distinguished from Aptitude Software. Aptitude’s offer period began on April 8, 2026, but it was listed without a named bidder, while the Panel recorded H.B. Fuller’s subsidiary as the bidder for AMS on May 21. Aptitude announced a strategic review and formal sale process on April 8, covering options such as raising capital, selling assets or selling the company. In an update on September 16, it said it had received non-binding indicative proposals from trade parties and private equity investors to acquire the company or its eSuite and IFRS Rules divisions. It added that discussions with one party interested in acquiring the company were at a more advanced stage, without naming the party in that update.

Aptitude’s total revenue was £28.8 million in the first half of 2026, compared with £32.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025, a decline of 12%. By contrast, annual recurring revenue in its AI Autonomous Finance segment rose 12% to £20.1 million as of June 30, 2026. Annual recurring revenue for its Fynapse product was about £4.9 million, compared with £2.6 million a year earlier, an increase of 85%. Chief Executive Alex Curran said the company “continues to make progress in discussions with certain parties and will update investors in due course.” In its July 31 update, Aptitude said its strategic review and formal sale process were progressing in line with the board’s expectations.

Aptitude said in its July 31 update that Fynapse accounted for 93% of its sales pipeline, compared with 80% in July 2025. Partner-influenced new business also accounted for 92% of the pipeline, up from 70% a year earlier. On October 5, the company announced renewals of Aptitude Accounting Hub contracts with two large banking groups in Britain and Ireland, with a total contract value of £6.5 million. H.B. Fuller shares closed at $49.61 on October 23, according to EL7 data, which did not link the price to the deal. H.B. Fuller had announced that completion was expected by the end of 2026, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of outstanding conditions.